Hinge construction



Oct. 30, 1945. J. J. THOMAS HINGE CONSTRUCTION 2 Shets-Sheet 1 Filed March 15, 1944 J. J. THOMAS HINGE CON STRUCTION Oct. 30, 1945.

Filed March 13, 1944 2 SheetsSheet 2 from a study of the Patented Oct. 30,1945

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFKIE HINGE CONSTRUCTION m... J. Thomas, Newport News, Va.

' Application March 13, 1944, Serial No. 526,248 8 Claims(' (01. 16-135) This invention relates to a hinge construction and in accordance with the present invention -is various other uses as will appear in the descrip tion following.

A primary object of the inventionis the pro vision of a hinge embodying a pair of pivotally accompanying drawings wherein like numerals designate like parts throughout.

connected plates or leaves and wherein one of to the other leaf.

A further and more specific object of the invention is the provision of a hinge embodying a' pair of pivotally connected plates or leaves and wherein one plate is provided with a yieldable tongue and the other plate provided with a roller movable along the yieldable tongue to deflect the tongue upon relative pivotal movement of the plates, the'tongue being non-concentric with the pivotal axis of theplates and yielding upon movemerit of the roller therealong, and the tongue being provided with a recess or opening at a predetermined point in the length thereof for receiving the roller under the yieldable resistance of the tongue and preventing further travel of the roller whereby the plates are latched by the tongue in a predetermined angular relation.

A still f'urther'object of the invention is the provision of a hinge of the above noted character embodying means for locking the plates against angular movement beyond a predetermined angular position thereof and preventing separation of the locking means.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of a hinge structure of the above noted character which is relatively simple in construction, durable, highly efllcient in operation and which is capable of being manufactured at relatively low cost in shapes and sizes to meet requirements of use.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will be more fully apparent following specification and In the drawings: V Figure l is a side elevational view of a hinge constructed in accordance with one embodiment of the invention, the hinge being shown with its leaves in angular relation in dot-and-dash lines;

Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view of the hinge shown in Fig. 1 with a portion thereof broken away to show the operative relationship of otherwise concealed parts;

Fig. 3 is a side elevational view of the hinge shown in operative position on an automobile trunk, the lid of the trunk being in open or raised the latch as observed in the plane of line H of Fig. 4;

Fig. '7 is a vertical sectional view in the plane of line 1-4 of Fig, 5, and showing the relationship of the latching parts;

Fig. 8 is a partial longitudinal section inthe plane of line 8-8 of Fig. 9 showing the application of the essential features of the invention to a hinge structure embodying a pair of flat'directly pivotally connected plates or leaves;

Fig. 9 is a top plan view, on a reduced scale of the hinge shown in Fig. 9. 7

Referring now in detail to the drawings, and first to the embodiment of Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the hinge which is illustrated as especially adapted for use with automobile trunk lids, comprises a flat or plane leaf or plate It and a second leaf or plate ll pivotally connected to the plate id in the usual manner as by the pin II.

In order to provide for the proper swinging of the gasket carrying upper end of the lid Lto and from the gasket seat 3 as well as to provide clearance for the edge of the body provided with such seat as indicated in Fig. 3, the leaf ll comprises the curved or offset portion [3 extending a substantial distance from the plane of leaf Ill in the position of Fig. l and which merges into the plane portion ll of the leaf.

- The leaves It and II are provided with apertures I! for the reception of attaching devices by which the leaves are secured to spacing blocks II and I! carried by the body 3 and lid L respectlvely of the automobile trunk, as is clearly illustrated in Fig. 3.

The plate I is provided with a curved yieldable tongue I 8 which as shown is an integral extension of the plate but which may be constructed separately and suitably secured to the plate as shown for example, in Fig. 8. Cooperating with the yieldable tongue I8 is a roller l9 pivotally supported in the bifurcated end of, a lug 20 extending outwardly from the curved leaf portion The tongue I8 is provided with a rectangular aperture 2| adjacent its free end and the yieldable tongue l8 gradually approaches the pivot axis of the plates from the full line position of roller l9 in Fig. 1 to the aperture 2| whereby,

. a circumferential portion thereof will dropinto the aperture with the tongue still under tension tion.

as indicated by the dot-and-dash lines in Fig. 1, v

with the result that the leaf II will be yieldably latch'ed in raised position whereby to support the lid L or other lid or cover in such position without additional holding means.

The advance edge of the aperture 2| is slightly rounded as indicated in Fig. l for facilitating reverse movement of the plate II to its normal position relative to the plate l0. While it would be more difficult to move the plate ll beyond the aperture 2| in the direction of the free end of the tongue than in the reverse direction toward normal position due to the curvature of the tongue, means are provided to positively lock the roller against movement from the aperture 2| toward and over the free end of the tongue.

erably bevelled or rounded as indicated in Fig. 5 to facilitate return of the roller to normal pool- The normal position of the hinge plates or leaves 10, II, is indicated in Fig. 4 and upon swinging the leaf II to the position of Fig. 5 the roller l8 drops into the aperture 2| and the shoulders 25 en age the edge 26 of the aperture. whereby the roller and accordingly the plate ll is positively stopped or locked from further movement toward the free end of the tongue.

In Figs. 8 and 9 are illustrated the cooperative structural features of Figs. 4 to 7 in a hinge embodying plates l0 and II of usual form and directly pivotally connected by the pin l2. This form of hinge may find desirable application in uses other than automobile trunk lids and may be attached to normally abutting movable and immovable parts by recessing portions projecting to either side of the plane of the leaves in such parts.

In this form of hinge the roller I9 is supported between the flanges 24 of a lu 20" suitably sethereof for engagement by the roller, and stop Such means consists in the extreme end, of the tongue being curved inwardly as at 18' on a radius substantially smaller than that of the main body portion of the tongue, as is clearly indicated in Figs. 1 and 3. The tongue l8 should of course be formed .of a width and thickness dependent upon the load intended to be supported by the plate or leaf l I.

While in the operation of raising the lid L the tongue I 8 will be substantially tensioned, the provision of the roller ,19 together with the substantial leverage provided by the lid L, slight resistance will be offered but the tensioned tongue upon engagement of the roller within the aperture will be suflicient to maintain the lid in raised position and the tension can be overcome by a relatively light pull downwardly on the lid.

The embodiment of the present invention according to Figs. 4 to 7 isgenerally similar to that of Figs. 1 to 3 and differs therefrom only in a modified form of looking or holding means to prevent overthrow or passage of the roller over the free end of the yieldable tongue. According to this embodiment, the roller 19 is rotatably supggrted between the flanges 24 of a bifurcated Each of the flanges 24 is provided with a shoulder- 25 adapted to engage the rear edge 26 of the wide portion of a T-shaped aperture 2|, the

narrow portion receiving a portion of the roller means for preventing movement of the roller over the free end of the tongue.

While I have disclosed but certain specific embodiments of my invention, such are to be considered as illustrative only, and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being defined in the subloined claims.

What Pclaim and desire to secure by U. S. Letters Patent is:

1. A hinge construction comprising a pair of pivotally connected plates, an arcuate resilient and yieldable tongue projecting in the form of a single uniformly curving strip from one of the plates in eccentric relation to the pivotal connection of the plates and having a free end, a bifurcated lug supported by the other plate and including spaced flanges, a roller rotatably supported between the flanges and movable along the tongue upon relative pivotal movement of the plates for gradually tensioning the tongue as it moves toward the free end thereof, an aperture in the tongue adjacent the free .end thereof for receiving a portion of the roller to yieldably latch the plates in predetermined angular relation, and a shoulder on one of said flanges for engaging the rear edge of the aperture upon reception of the roller therein to hold the roller against movement over the free end of the tongue.

2. A hinge construction according to claim 1 wherein the tongue supporting plate is provided with a recess and wherein said lug is substantially parallel with its supporting plate for reception of the roller in the recess in a parallel relation of the plates.

and yieldable tongue projecting in the form of a single curved strip from one of said plates in eccentric relation to the pivotal connection of the the member to stop and yieldably latch said plates in predetermined angular relation.

4. A hinge construction according to claim 3 together with a stop shoulder on the member to engage an edge of the aperture to preclude movement of the member beyond the free end of the tongue.

5. A hinge construction comprising a pair of pivotally connected plates, an arcuate resiilent andyieldable tongue projecting in the form of a single curved strip from one of said plates in eccentric relation to the pivotal connection of the plates and having a free end disposed'mate-,

rially beyond the pivot in spaced relation to said plates, a lug on the other plate, a roller supported by the lug for movement along the inner concave surface of the tongue upon relative pivotal movement of the plates, the roller gradually increasing the tension of the tongue in its movement toward the free end thereof, an aperture in the tongue adjacent its free end for reception of the roller to yieldably latch the plates in predetermined angular relation, and means on the lug embracing the roller for abutment with the tongue to preclude movement of the roller beyond the aperture and over the free end of the tongue.

6. A hinge construction according to claim 5 wherein said stop means comprises a shoulder on the roller supporting means for engagement with the rear edge of the aperture.

7. A hinge construction according to claim 5 together with a hood on the tongue supporting plate for receiving a portion of the :roller when the plates are in one limit of relative: movement.

8. A hinge according to claim 5, wherein said other plate is offset between its ends and the roller is supported by the ofiset portion of said plate for cooperative engagement with the uniformly curving tongue to gradually tension the tongue upon relative pivotal movement of the plates.

- JOHN J. THOMAS. 

